"I'm not the type to let a sleeping giant lie. I wake up the giant, slap him around, make him mad and beat him to the ground. I talk a big game because I carry a big stick." --- All-Pro Stanford Graduate

Team was willing to really open up the wallet to pay big bucks for one of the best young starting pitchers in the league. It shows a financial commitment from the M's to Felix, and hopefully they will up the payroll to support his deal. All we can do is hope, but I think this is the right move.

When was the last time the highest paid pitcher in the league played for the worst team in the league? And is anyone else thinking now the Mariners will use this contract as an "excuse" for why they can't afford to go out and sign any other quality players?

SeatownJay wrote:When was the last time the highest paid pitcher in the league played for the worst team in the league? And is anyone else thinking now the Mariners will use this contract as an "excuse" for why they can't afford to go out and sign any other quality players?

like Josh Hamilton, who chose the Angels? Or Prince Fielder, who chose the Tigers?

Cant kidnap and force these players to Seattle... gets old hearing the same line from people on here. Only M's fans would complain about NOT signing players immediately after dropping $175 million on a player

Winning solves players not wanting to come here, the FO made a move they really did not have to make, they could have traded him away for more prospects and kept the influx of youngsters running through the organization like other mlb farm teams do.

I think they are trying to turn this thing around but you can't do it over night and this is another step in the right direction. Felix will still be a top notch pitcher when this new contract ends because he throws such a mechanically sound ball. Things are looking up....

425HawkSpark wrote:So happy to see him get paid. Totally worth it. Plus who else will put butts in the seats.

So where have the butts been in the past.

Last year, M's averaged 21,258 (5th worst in league) per game at home, at only 44% (worst in league) of capacity.

A quick check on Hernandez, attendance avg. = under 29,000 at home (only used games in which he got the decision).

IS an extra 8-10,000 butts going to pay for that contract?

Also, this doesn't bode well for him:

"MLB - Hernandez lots of innings at 26At age 26, Felix Hernandez has thrown over 1,620 innings in the majors. In the Divisional Era, only three players have pitched more innings through their age-26 seasons. Bert Blyleven went on to the Hall of Fame; neither Valenzuela nor Gooden reached 200 career wins."

“A society that gets rid of all its troublemakers goes downhill.” ― Robert A. Heinlein

Last year, M's averaged 21,258 (5th worst in league) per game at home, at only 44% (worst in league) of capacity.

A quick check on Hernandez, attendance avg. = under 29,000 at home (only used games in which he got the decision).

IS an extra 8-10,000 butts going to pay for that contract?

Also, this doesn't bode well for him:

"MLB - Hernandez lots of innings at 26At age 26, Felix Hernandez has thrown over 1,620 innings in the majors. In the Divisional Era, only three players have pitched more innings through their age-26 seasons. Bert Blyleven went on to the Hall of Fame; neither Valenzuela nor Gooden reached 200 career wins."

And Russell Wilson was too short to play NFL football because statistically no one had really done it. More statistical garbage.

Mariners need something to hang their hats on, Felix obviously loves it here and we got a hometown discount in return. It's a win-win-win for him, the team and the fans.

"The past is a foreign country: they do things differently there."---LP Hartley

Well, I like it, he is definitely worth that contract and now that solves the will they/won't they trade talk. Now they need to grow around him, I realize it's not going to turn around in one year or two but Hernandez makes any team better and is the only money player or stadium draw the Mariners have.

Last year, M's averaged 21,258 (5th worst in league) per game at home, at only 44% (worst in league) of capacity.

A quick check on Hernandez, attendance avg. = under 29,000 at home (only used games in which he got the decision).

IS an extra 8-10,000 butts going to pay for that contract?

Also, this doesn't bode well for him:

"MLB - Hernandez lots of innings at 26At age 26, Felix Hernandez has thrown over 1,620 innings in the majors. In the Divisional Era, only three players have pitched more innings through their age-26 seasons. Bert Blyleven went on to the Hall of Fame; neither Valenzuela nor Gooden reached 200 career wins."

And Russell Wilson was too short to play NFL football because statistically no one had really done it. More statistical garbage.

Mariners need something to hang their hats on, Felix obviously loves it here and we got a hometown discount in return. It's a win-win-win for him, the team and the fans.

You're right, stats don't mean anything.

“A society that gets rid of all its troublemakers goes downhill.” ― Robert A. Heinlein

SeatownJay wrote:When was the last time the highest paid pitcher in the league played for the worst team in the league? And is anyone else thinking now the Mariners will use this contract as an "excuse" for why they can't afford to go out and sign any other quality players?

like Josh Hamilton, who chose the Angels? Or Prince Fielder, who chose the Tigers?

Cant kidnap and force these players to Seattle... gets old hearing the same line from people on here. Only M's fans would complain about NOT signing players immediately after dropping $175 million on a player

Also gets old hearing the same old folks making the same old excuses for the Mariners upper front office.

The Radish wrote:Several guys in my old duffers coffee group were bitching about this.

I told them 2 things

1. Its nice to see the Mariners spend money on a real quality player for once.

2. They will get their money back 10 fold by the number of people Felix puts in the seats on his days on the mound.

Complaining about giving a huge contract to the best pitcher in baseball to make him a long term mariner, after bitching about not signing fielder, Hamilton, etc... I swear the ms have the most asinine fans in baseball at this point. Everyone is so determined to loathe every move they make.

And yes. I am exaggerating mildly for the purpose of illustration, but this contract is everything an ms fan should want - a serious long term financial investment in a superstar. We can only hope it's not the last.

4- Basically he's already earned it in his career thus far. If he drops off some, then he's still brought the team their 25 million a year worth for the last 6+ years in my view, and they could find a trade partner much more easily if needed due to his being locked up at what will be considered reasonable for THE elite starter (remember... he's making less than A-Rod per average season on this contract.

5- Plus he's young, competitive, and like an NFL QB who if he's "the best" makes about this much and only has to play 16 games a year plus playoffs). Felix will give you his best every night for 30+ starts per year.

So to wrap it up... Felix doesn't ruin the Mariners salary setup, as they have so many young arms right now, he is locked up forever, which is good for everybody, and if you're a free agent or trade target that is thinking about Seattle, they start to look a lot better when you're essentially guaranteed Felix will be here for your entire contract.

Would it have made a difference in trying to acquire Upton? Who knows... but I can see others that will want to come here to play with Felix, just as we're going to see NFL players wanting to come play with Russell Wilson, or the way NBA players loved playing with Gary Payton, and how others wanted to be here with Edgar, Griffey, and Buhner knowing they get run support as a pitcher, or massive protection in the lineup as a hitter (if ownership had opened the purse strings and let Lou and Gillick acquire a left-handed power bat, but that's another story, and a reason we have no World Series trophies in Seattle).

Uncle Si wrote:Sorry Sports Hernia... I still don't get it. What excuse? Hell, what's the problem? We just signed one of the best pitchers in baseball... at at 175 million. Am I missing something?

Apparently you dont. Examine your history of defending this FO group then get back to me. No one is denying locking up Felix is a GREAT thing! No one, but its something that SHOULD be done, its a no-brainer for any org in this situation to do the same thing!

Now, is Felix going to be used as an excuse by your 2 friends Chuck and Howard to not spend anymore $$$ on top tier talent from here on out for years to come??? (Remember Armstrong's "Freddy ate all of our cookies" quote when Garcia won an arb case against Seattle).

Uncle Si wrote:Sorry Sports Hernia... I still don't get it. What excuse? Hell, what's the problem? We just signed one of the best pitchers in baseball... at at 175 million. Am I missing something?

Apparently you dont. Examine your history of defending this FO group then get back to me. No one is denying locking up Felix is a GREAT thing! No one, but its something that SHOULD be done, its a no-brainer for any org in this situation to do the same thing!

Now, is Felix going to be used as an excuse by your 2 friends Chuck and Howard to not spend anymore $$$ on top tier talent from here on out for years to come??? (Remember Armstrong's "Freddy ate all of our cookies" quote when Garcia won an arb case against Seattle).

Why don't you spell it out for me then.... I've defended the youth movement and don't get to whining when some free agent decides he doesn't want seattle.

Signing anyone to 175 million is far from a no brainer and it doesn't take much time on google to see how many players due a huge pay raise get it from another team. Ridiculous to say that signing Felix should have been assumed.

My point isn't that the FO hasn't made mistakes, just that they finally got one right. And for a handful of whiners on here they sill take it as a negative.

Si's kinda right on this, they did go after Hamilton this year and Fielder the year prior. Hamilton in reality had no interest in Seattle, can't blame him at all. Fielder just got a better offer from Detroit, but Seattle was right up there with them for money, just not the years. They had a trade completed for Upton, Upton made the choice not to come to Seattle.

They've tried, but the only way to reverse the trend of players not coming to Seattle is to show something, in the last few years they haven't. They've got to rely on their home talent to change that. Just the way I'm seeing this.

Throwdown wrote:Si's kinda right on this, they did go after Hamilton this year and Fielder the year prior. Hamilton in reality had no interest in Seattle, can't blame him at all. Fielder just got a better offer from Detroit, but Seattle was right up there with them for money, just not the years. They had a trade completed for Upton, Upton made the choice not to come to Seattle.

They've tried, but the only way to reverse the trend of players not coming to Seattle is to show something, in the last few years they haven't. They've got to rely on their home talent to change that. Just the way I'm seeing this.

They made half assed efforts to Fielder and Hamilton just to say "hey, we tried!" The M's never had any interest in signing either at those dollars (not saying they are right or wrong on that thought). Don't fall for the FO smokescreen of we tried. They failed and have failed again and again when it comes to top tier FA talent. The reason has more to do with the clowns at the top than some would like to admit.

Throwdown wrote:Si's kinda right on this, they did go after Hamilton this year and Fielder the year prior. Hamilton in reality had no interest in Seattle, can't blame him at all. Fielder just got a better offer from Detroit, but Seattle was right up there with them for money, just not the years. They had a trade completed for Upton, Upton made the choice not to come to Seattle.

They've tried, but the only way to reverse the trend of players not coming to Seattle is to show something, in the last few years they haven't. They've got to rely on their home talent to change that. Just the way I'm seeing this.

They made half assed efforts to Fielder and Hamilton just to say "hey, we tried!" The M's never had any interest in signing either at those dollars (not saying they are right or wrong on that thought). Don't fall for the FO smokescreen of we tried. They failed and have failed again and again when it comes to top tier FA talent. The reason has more to do with the clowns at the top than some would like to admit.

Seriously? I'm done with Licoln and Armstrong and have been for a decade. But you can google both offers. In the case of Hamilton we offered more than the Rangers and Angels....

Being upset the team hasn't gotten better is one thing. Basing it on ignorance is another. 140 over 5 for an oft injured former drug addict isn't half assed. Just bullsh--

A concern about Felix Hernandez's elbow might affect talks with the Mariners about his contract extension, CBSSports.com's Jon Heyman has confirmed. ESPN's Buster Olney first reported the news. A few days ago we learned the two sides were discussing a seven-year deal worth $175 million, which would be the largest pitching contract in baseball history.

Heyman confirmed that Felix did take a physical recently, which is when the elbow concerns arose. The two sides are working through various issues, the elbow among them. There is still hope the contract will be completed, but Heyman hears it is "not imminent." Pre-signing physicals, especially for contracts of this magnitude, are standard.